Having a religious affiliation doesn’t stop people from betting on sports in the US, according to a study: People who infrequently attend religious services are more likely to gamble on sports than those who go at least weekly or who never attend. Catholics were most likely to gamble on sports.
https://news.osu.edu/having-a-religious-affiliation-doesnt-prevent-betting-on-sports/
21 Comments
Article published in the Sociology of Sport Journal: [https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2025-0136](https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2025-0136)
I don’t think most Christian denominations oppose gambling, do they? Seems unsurprising to me
I love gambling .. it’s a tax on people who are bad at math, and I appreciate that they pay those taxes instead of me.
Gambling isn’t prohibited for Catholics unless it diverts money from actual responsibilities like rent or caring for your children. And at that point, it’s clearly an addiction. A lot of parishes have raffles.
I mean, for forever Catholic Church festivals had bingo and Vegas night and beer tents.
Does religion really prevent any vice or maladaptive behavior, though? It sure seems like religiosity doesn’t make people any less addictive or any less perverted in any way, except maybe they give a better performance of righteousness when others are watching.
Having a religious affiliation is also more correlated with being conservative, which is more correlated with being a fan of both collegiate and professional football, which is where a bulk of sports betting advertising happens.
I mean, religious people are generally *betting* on the existence of a God, so the behavior checks out.
Imagine that, people who require no evidence for their whole world view have more of a tendency to take risks on things that have no evidence of working in their favor.
A rube is a rube is a rube
At this point its just fair to assume religious = bad character / stupid
My dad was a bookie and when he was in a private hospital run by Catholic nuns, the nuns would all be betting on the horse races with him.
For what it’s worth I’m an atheist and don’t gamble. I’d rather read about chaos theory than get financially entangled in it. Maybe the faith aspect makes them think they are favored.
Of course they do, they have a deal with god.
I don’t think having a religious affiliation has stopped anyone from doing anything, ever.
Just because they pretend to be holier than thou surely doesn’t mean they are. “Christian morals” today are laughable.
I feel so alone in NEVER gambling. Sure, I gambled the Strait of Hormuz wouldn’t reopen and bought an all electric car. This is fundamentally different to me from risking cash for the off chance on more cash. Get rich quick is bulls***.
As a Catholic, gambling isn’t forbidden and neither is drinking (even to excess).
One of the many awesome things about being Catholic compared to other denominations or religions is that most forms of fun are encouraged.
Betting on sports isn’t real betting. Everyone knows that
Having a religious affiliation doesn’t stop people from **anything**.